Indiana defensive end commitment Allen Cater made an unofficial visit to Arkansas for the Mississippi State game on Saturday and left Fayetteville with a scholarship offer.
Cater, 6-5, 240, 4.8 of Kennesaw, (Ga.) Mt. Paran Christian said he’s focused on helping his school repeat as Class 1A state champs and has put recruiting on the back-burner.
“As far as where it puts me in the recruiting process,” said Cater of the offer. “I really don’t know yet because of me being in season, It’s kind of hard to focus on two things with one being my senior year and I’m hoping to get another ring in high school and making sure I choose the right college.”
Coach Bret Bielema told him of the offer before the game.
“I got to meet Coach B and he said there’s an opportunity for me to come play for the Hogs,” Allen said.
With temperatures in the 30’s, Cater didn’t expect to see 71,936 fans cheering on the Hogs.
“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting that many people with it being that cold,” Cater said. “That was definitely a huge shock to me as far as seeing all the fans and seeing how energetic they are in the game. That was a cool sight to see.”
Arkansas coming up short on the scoreboard didn’t dampen Cater’s opinion.
“Even though they lost, it definitely shows Arkansas has the potential to be a national championship team,” Cater said.
Defensive line Coach Rory Segrest is Cater’s lead recruiter.
“He’s a cool coach,” Cater said. “I think he said he’s going to visit me Monday and come to practice and do a home visit later that night. I want to get to know more about him and form a strong relationship. He’s a great coach. From what I’ve seen he really knows what he’s doing.”
Cater is considering engineering and business as majors. He said Segrest talked up Arkansas’ well regarded business school.
“That was the first thing Coach Segrest talked about,” he said. “That’s definitely something to look at when choosing a major and a school.”
He also plays basketball and competes in the 100 and 200 meters in track along with a running a leg on the 4x100 reply.
“It’s pretty interesting when I see their jaws drop when I don’t go to the shot put and I start warming up with the 4x100 team,” Cater said. “I love the look on their faces at 200 and something pounds and I beat them.”
He has two reasons for wanting to run track.
“One, I wanted to get faster and two, I like competition,” Cater said. “That’s one thing that will never change. No matter where I go I’m going to go hard and ball because nothing is given to you.”
While standing on the sidelines during pre-game warmups, Cater noticed Arkansas’ super fan Canaan Sandy in the stands.
“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone that energetic about a football game,” Cater said. “The game hadn’t even started yet. It was pre-game and he was just so happy.”